Jan Flex - PT Scores Dropping

TiffanyBTiffanyB Member
in General 26 karma

Hi all!

Looking for suggestions on the last stretch before the January Flex. It seems like I'm scoring progressively worse on my PTs, which has me extremely nervous. I study anywhere from 4-6 hours daily, and try to take one day off during the week to avoid complete burnout. However, last week I was forced to take four days off from studying, as I was moving into a new place. After returning to my study routine from PT avg dropped from 161 to 158 (which isn't huge, but I really need to stay in the 160s). You'd think with such a long break, I'd come back refreshed. Also, I feel like I've forgotten the techniques/processes for LR questions, and find myself mindlessly reading stimulus, instead of the active reading I've practiced (I studied LR with Ellen's "The Loophole"). I'm even struggling with simple LG questions that came easy before.

Any suggestions anyone could offer? Not sure if I'm suffering from mental burnout, nerves or just the wrong approach---but I really don't want to blow it on test day!!

Comments

  • pfmakeypfmakey Member
    5 karma

    Hi Tiffany,

    I found myself in a similar position prior to my first exam with the RC section, and I've felt it at times while I've been preparing for this second exam as well. I think my knowing that the test was getting closer and closer made me doubt myself in a way that was reflected in my score. It sounds like that might be happening to you too. Two quick pieces of advice I'd offer: 1) go back to fundamentals, take a day where you skim through the syllabus chronologically, to ensure you've got your core building blocks down and fresh in your mind 2) trust yourself and the time you've put into your preparation! It sounds like you've been working really hard for this 160 - have confidence in the time you've already dedicated. Fingers crossed for ya!

  • TiffanyBTiffanyB Member
    26 karma

    @pfmakey Yes! It sounds like I'm in the very boat that you were in. I hadn't allowed myself to go back to the building blocks for fear of losing precision time, but I'm definitely going to try that approach. Thanks so much for sharing that advice and words of encouragement---every little bit helps!

  • kilgoretroutkilgoretrout Alum Member
    795 karma

    im testing in jan too and my last prep test score was a HUGE drop from what i had before. id say do some questions untimed just to take the stress/pressure off, then do 10 in 10 drills for LR. for LG, i just do a lot of games to get back into the "groove." you dont have to get perfect on all of them, just getting back into the process will help. like a warm up.

  • lizzogonzolizzogonzo Member
    628 karma

    Hey! I totally understand what you're feeling lol. I'm in the same boat, I peaked like a month ago and haven't been able to nail a clean score in a PT since sigh. But as frustrating as that is, the best thing I can do is just move forward and trying to figure out a solution.

    For me, I've started to really be mindful of what exactly is going on during my timed PTs. What conditions lead me to miss things I usually miss? What kind of mindset am I in? I am BRing around the score I want to have, so now I have to ask myself: since it seems like my fundamental understanding of the material is at a good level, what can I do to make the time pressure not an issue?

    I realize that I'm still uncomfortable with the 35 minutes, esp with RC and LR. So I'm starting to drill 35 minute problem sets daily so that it becomes like second nature. I want the day of the test to be like another day, so that I can be in a calm and focused mindset and not panicked. After the drill, I reflect on what strategies I did by writing them down in my notebook or talking to someone about it. Somehow I need to articulate what happened.

    I think this is one way to indirectly boost your confidence for test day too! The less nervous you are the less prone you are to making mistakes and doubting yourself. It seems like you've studied hard for the 160 range, so perhaps it's now a matter of strategy under timed conditions. Try to be conscious about what you're doing during PTs and write about how it went right after you did them. Also use the Analytics tool to see maybe it's specific question types, maybe it's because you're not skipping the curve breaker questions and it makes you run out of time.

    The more I understand myself as a test taker, the more I know how to address my specific issues. I hope some of this helps, we got this wooo almost there!

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